Article ID: | iaor1999609 |
Country: | United Kingdom |
Volume: | 35 |
Issue: | 12 |
Start Page Number: | 3393 |
End Page Number: | 3403 |
Publication Date: | Dec 1997 |
Journal: | International Journal of Production Research |
Authors: | Cochran J.K., Chu D.E., Chu M.D. |
Keywords: | simulation: applications, personnel & manpower planning |
Staffing across multiple time periods with uneven demand is a common problem in many organizations. There are many models for optimal cyclic personnel scheduling, but none of these incorporates the optimal number-of-workers problem or the optimal staff-skills-composition problem. In this paper, we introduce a variation on cyclic scheduling that incorporates discrete-event simulation and specialized data collection for a staffing plan as part of a general methodology. The result is a four-step approach based on a stochastic optimization model for scheduling and staffing an organization. We illustrate this approach with a semiconductor manufacturing case study.